While many were busy stony-eyed stargazing, or fetishizing the past like some damned, timesick immortal, Chile’s Verbum, without pretense or warning, dropped one of the heaviest demos in years. Technically, Processio Flagellates, the obscure death-doom outfit’s demo, was released—digitally—at the end of last year. However, it wasn’t until March of this year that the demo was brought forth from its immaterial existence, and made manifest in tape format, thanks to Penitenziagite Records.

Morphing seamlessly from funeral doom to grinding death metal to excoriating black metal, and over and under and back again, the four songs that comprise Processio Flagellates indicate an inveterate expertise at the extreme metal arts. But the entity with whom we reached in the hope of gathering some intel regarding Verbum affects a coffin-tight reticence on all matters concerning band personnel. “[W]e . . . keep the identities and members of the band hidden,” it writes in response to the question of what other bands members of Verbum were/are in. And that was that.

While they may wish that their true identities remain obscure, Verbum are not totally shy about performing live. They are discerning, though. Having played only three times since their inception, the band will be taking a break from shows for a while. Says our nameless contact: “[W]e are preparing new material, and playing live is a moment that we decide in a very detailed way… Probably our next gig will be in March of 2017.” In the meantime, look out for a reissue of Processio Flagellates. According to the band, Signal Rex, in conjunction with Sekt ov Gnozis, will re-release the demo on tape, CD and vinyl. No official date on those yet, but if you missed out on the first run of tapes, your redemption is coming.